Council votes down proposal to acquire West theater

Monday

GALESBURG — The Galesburg City Council voted down a $10,000 proposal to buy a former downtown movie theater Monday for which the current owner paid only $100.

The council unanimously voted against the proposal to buy the building that once held the West Twin Cinema at 42 S. Prairie St. The building’s current owner, Michael Spinks, bought the building in late March 2017 for $100 and intended to put a “souped-up Chuck E. Cheese” in the building in September 2017, according to previous articles in The Register-Mail. In September, Spinks needed a loan of $5,000 to $7,000 to make the project work, he told The Register-Mail at the time.

City Manager Todd Thompson said during the meeting that Spinks approached the city and proposed that the city buy the property, which the city administration considered doing so it could incorporate the property into its remodeling project for Park Plaza, 130 E. Main St., and the adjacent Parking Lot E. Thompson said Spinks originally asked for $25,000 for the property, but he indicated $10,000 was the lowest offer he would accept.

Many of the seven aldermen present raised objections to paying Spinks such a high price when he had paid only $100 for the property. Thompson said that in addition to the proposed $10,000, the city would pay more than $200,000 in demolition costs. The city administration also recommended proposals to pay three firms — Klingner & Associates, Massie Massie & Associates and Bruner, Cooper and Zuck — a total of $38,100 combined for additional design, construction and engineering services for the Park Plaza project that would be needed as a result of the purchase. The council tabled the proposed money for the firms.

Thompson did not believe Spinks made any improvements to the property, though he did have approximately $1,800 in costs.

“Those expenses are probably, I would think, gas, water — things to keep the building open, which every person in Galesburg has those kinds of expenses,” Dennis said. “So why are we going to reimburse him for expenses that he would have had anyway?”

Karlin and Galesburg Mayor John Pritchard expressed their concerns that the property in its current condition could not be rehabilitated and redeveloped. Pritchard said one of the glass cupolas on the building that lay flat on the roof has almost “fallen completely into the building,” and added that anyone who wanted to develop something on the property would have to demolish the cinema and rebuild “from square one.”

“Any time it’s rained for the last year, many years, it’s all going into the building,” Pritchard said. “The building’s not been heated, so if you’re pouring a bunch of water into a building for a long period of time, you get mold.”

The council could opt to bring the proposal back with an alternate proposed price during a future meeting, but Thompson emphasized that because construction on Park Plaza and Parking Lot E will begin soon, there would be a time factor at play. The city planned to use the additional space as a spot to place public restrooms for the park.

Spinks did not return voicemails left by The Register-Mail Monday afternoon and evening.